Discharged 1 hour before Mark Thomas' party!

Mark was discharged yesterday with a PICC line in place in order to administer the remaining doses of steroids. He will have Home Health come and assist with changing the dressing on his line. He is scheduled to see the Transplant Team at UK tomorrow. Upon his discharge, his creatinine was back down to 1.2. We are thankful that all seems to be well with the kidney and are extremely thankful that Mark was discharged and returned home about an hour before Mark Thomas' birthday party! We are blessed with a wonderful family who all pitched in Friday night to take care of Mark Thomas and finish all the party preparation. Thanks to our family, Mark Thomas' party was a huge success! Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!

Admitted but hoping to be discharged soon!

Mark was admitted to UK yesterday due to an increase in creatinine. His creatinine baseline post transplant has fluctuated from 1.1 to 1.3. On Thursday, it was 1.5. UK is following Hopkins' protocol for treatment which includes 5 days of IV steroids. Yesterday, they placed a PICC line (IV access that can be used for an extended period of time) in Mark's forearm in hopes that he will not have to stay hospitalized for 5 days and can administer the steroid at home. They also gave Mark the first day of steroids. This morning, Mark's creatinine was back down to 1.2. We are thankful that the steroids appear to be combating any rejection. We are hopeful Mark may be discharged soon as Mark Thomas' 5th birthday party is planned for today at 2:00pm!